


Treat You Better

by azngirl123



Series: Moments [11]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Domestic Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azngirl123/pseuds/azngirl123
Summary: "Okay, you want to talk? Then talk. Tell me why Luke was better than me. Tell me why I was basically dropped the moment you met him. Tell me what I did all these years that made you not trust me. Tell me what I did to deserve being treated like crap by someone who I thought was my friend. My best friend."OR Percy's had enough of being tossed aside.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan/Annabeth Chase
Series: Moments [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735525
Comments: 1
Kudos: 37





	Treat You Better

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Lyrics pulled from Shawn Mendes' "Treat You Better."

_"_ _I know he's just not right for you. And you can tell me if I'm off, but I see it on your face when you say that's he the one that you want."_

* * *

"Percy? Are you even listening to me?" There were suddenly fingers snapping in his field of vision. He blinked and looked back into a pair of stunning grey eyes.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Seaweed Brain, I said can we reschedule the rest of our movie night later? Luke just texted me and wants to meet up."

He scrunched his nose at the question. He hated how much things had changed. He's known Annabeth since they were six years old and after he shared one of his mother's blue chocolate chip cookies on her first day of class, they've been best friends ever since. They were practically inseparable growing up, but that all changed when six months ago, Annabeth started dating Luke Castellan, the high school's resident jock and All-American boy. Now, it was lucky if he and her could spend a few hours watching a movie or something not school related.

He nearly growled at the thought of Luke. The undeserving prick that swept every girl in the school, including Annabeth, off their feet. With his styled blonde hair and varsity lettermen jacket, he was the definition of the perfect boy to bring home to the family and the most popular guy at school. Annabeth was beyond enamored, but he knew better about the object of her affections. He heard what Luke said in the locker rooms and how Luke still had a penchant to talk about other girls even though he had the best girl there was.

Alright, so Percy maybe had a little crush on his best friend. _Okay fine_ , so maybe he had more than a tiny crush on his best friend. It might be better described as an all-encompassing, infatuating love for her that he's kept a secret for the past two years ever since they started high school.

And, it was this goddamn Luke that was stealing Annabeth away from him and convincing her to leave him in the dust. It wasn't even about any romantic possibilities he had that were being squandered that bothered him. No, it was the fact that ever since Annabeth started dating Luke, she completely forgot what their friendship was. He was pissed and hurt that Annabeth was finding it so easy to replace him after a decade of being best friends. However, being the annoyingly good guy he is, he's kept relatively quiet about his hurt since she was happy. Or at least seemed to be happy. He's recently started to have serious doubt over the matter, but Annabeth has shut down any conversation when he brought up his concerns and hints of disapproval regarding her boyfriend.

"You're blowing me off again? This is the third time! We haven't hung out in weeks!"

"I know and I'm sorry, but Luke wants me to go with him to this party tonight." Annabeth did look apologetic, but it didn't quell the anger he had.

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Annabeth, you hate parties. So you're telling me that you would rather go out and party with Luke then stay in and watch a movie with me?"

There was a brief hesitation in her answer before she said, "Well, no. But, Percy, it's Luke. He's my _boyfriend_." Stressing the last word as if he needed any reminder of the fact.

"So? I'm your _best friend_. Tell him that you don't want to go to the party and that we haven't hung out in ages."

"Seaweed Brain, I can't. I'm going to go so maybe we can do this another time."

"You can't keep dropping everything just for him!" But, in his mind, he was screaming at her _you can't keep dropping me_.

"Relationships are about compromise and I want to be with him," she said as she folded her arms and stared at him. They were no longer sitting on his couch, but facing each other in the middle of the living room. This wasn't a compromise. There wasn't ever any compromising. She was continually choosing Luke over him and he couldn't stand it.

He just blankly stared at her in disbelief. He couldn't even protest any further as she abruptly gathered her things and left out the front door of his apartment. He let out an angry yell that reverberated through the empty apartment. He wasn't sure how much longer he could handle being treated like this, but he also couldn't fathom losing Annabeth and just the thought of that happening nearly brought him to his knees.

* * *

_"And you're spending all your time in this wrong situation."_

* * *

He felt on edge when it came to his friendship with Annabeth since she walked out of their movie night on Friday. It was now Monday morning and he walked through the halls of Goode High, eyes peeled for the familiar head of blonde curls. Annabeth hadn't texted him over the weekend and he refused to be the person to reach out when he believed that he wasn't at fault, especially when he still felt hurt. Arriving at his locker, he got his necessary books for first hour when he felt someone lean up against the lockers next to him.

"Hey, Percy." He didn't have to look to know that it was Annabeth.

"How was the party?"

"Fine...I'm sorry about our movie night." He knew her well enough to know how hard apologizing could be for her and apart from that, he was awful at ignoring her.

He turned to her and gave her a brief hug, wishing that he could hold her for longer. As they pulled away, he said, "Just don't do it again, okay?"

She ran a hand through his hair playfully and ruffled it, responding, "I promise I'll try not to. Meet me in the library after school?"

He nodded in response. As she walked off, he thought back to her response. _I promise_ _I'll try not to_. It wasn't a definitive yes and that bothered him. He was beginning to think that she was taking advantage of their friendship, always relying on him to be there when she needed him, but not paying any mind to their friendship at any other time. This thought preoccupied him throughout the day, distracting his already wandering mind from the lectures. It felt like a lifetime before the day was finally over and he met Annabeth in the library as promised.

With his backpack over one shoulder, he walked into the library looking for her. As he rounded the corner, he spotted Annabeth with all her books out and...locking lips with Luke. He already knew what was coming.

"Hi, Annabeth. Castellan," he afforded the other man a cursory greeting through clenched teeth.

"Hey, Jackson. Babe, want to head home with me?" He didn't even need to listen to Annabeth's answer to know what she would say. He stared at the wall behind the couple, feeling the pain and betrayal seep into his pores as Annabeth began packing her things.

"Sorry, Percy. I'll see you later?" he only nodded in response and waited for the couple to walk out of the library. It hadn't even been twelve hours and her promise was already broken. He was losing his patience and it was getting harder and harder to suppress the feelings of betrayal that flooded his mind.

* * *

_"And any girl like you deserves a gentleman."_

* * *

"We'll be back in a few hours, Percy!" He heard his mother call from the living room as she and Paul left the apartment. He was lounging in his bed on his laptop when a knock echoed through the apartment.

Opening the door, he wasn't expecting Annabeth, especially when he hadn't really seen her since a few days ago when she walked away with Luke from the library. He had a greeting on the tip of his tongue, but his breath was immediately taken away. He caught a glimpse of her profile and all of a sudden, he was seeing red. "What the _fuck_ did that dick do to you?" There was a bruising mark on her cheek bone and he wanted to throw up at the sight of her hurt like this. Well, after he murdered Luke for causing her pain first.

Taking her by the hand, he pulled her into the apartment and under the kitchen light. He gently grabbed her chin to move her face so that he could see the injury better in the light. It was still red with a bluish mark, indicating the formation of a slight bruise. "Are you okay?"

Annabeth placed her hand on the one he had on her face. Somewhere in the time he was inspecting her cheek, his hand went from cupping her chin to cupping her cheek. "I'm fine. Percy, nothing happened. It was an accident," she tried to say in a soothing tone, but he still felt agitated.

Being so close to her began to mess with his head, so he took a step back and took a deep breath to try to calm himself before he demanded, "Explain to me how the hell this can be an accident."

"Luke was an idiot and got into a fight with one of the guy's on East High's football team. I went in to try to pull him out of the fight and I got the backend of one of his hits. It was an _accident_. I'm okay," she placed both hands on his shoulders to try to reassure him. He was still hurt, but she was here now and this wasn't the time or place to bring up his feelings.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie," he proposed as the pair made it to the couch. He put on an old romantic comedy that they had already seen before, but neither were bothered by the fact.

Halfway through the movie, he looked down and saw her peacefully asleep against his shoulder. He carried her to his bed and tucked her in. Pressing a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room, he grabbed a pillow and blanket and made his bed on the couch.

* * *

 _"Tell me why are we wasting time_ _o_ _n all your wasted crying_ _w_ _hen you should be with me instead."_

* * *

Swim practice had just ended and he was toweling off his hair as he was leaving the swimming facility. Outside the pool was the football field and as he was passing by the bleachers, he noticed a couple kissing under the bleachers. Typically, he would continue walking without casting a second glance, but he noticed that the boy was wearing his football uniform with a big _9_ on the back of the jersey. And that _9_ belonged to a certain quarterback of the football team, who also happened to be dating his blonde best friend. But, the other half of the locked lip couple that Luke was pushing up against the bleachers definitely had brunette hair.

Anger surged through him as he stalked towards the oblivious couple. "What the fuck are you doing you cheating bastard?" He yelled as he pulled the football player away from the girl. Unable to quell his ire, he managed to land a punch on Luke's face, giving the guy a bloody nose.

"What the hell do you want Jackson?" Luke exclaimed as he retaliated and landed a hit on his mouth, giving Percy a bloody lip.

"You know what! First, you make her cry. Then, you _hit_ her. And, now, you're a fucking cheater." He grabbed the boy by the jersey, each sentence punctuated with a harsh shove to the point where Luke hit the back of his head with the last sentence.

Oddly, Luke didn't retaliate physically. He only stared back at him with a crooked smirk on his face. "I can do whatever the fuck I want, Jackson. I may be dating your precious Annabeth, but a guy has needs that she's not wanting to satisfy anytime soon. Even if you tell her what you saw just now, she would never believe you because she'll believe me more when I tell her that you're lying and jealous because you secretly love her."

Internally, he was shocked that Luke knew of his secret feelings. Outwardly, he sneered, "I've been her best friend for over ten years. Annabeth is the smartest girl out there. Your relationship is over."

The bastard only smirked wider back at him and punched him in the stomach, catching Percy off guard and sending him to the floor. Standing over him, Luke said, "Just you wait and see."

Luke kicked him in the stomach for good measure and he stayed curled on the floor as Luke walked away with the blonde girl. He hated that he had lost the fight, but Luke's words unnerved him. Annabeth had to believe him. They've been together for over a decade as best friends. Just because some blond jock came in and started dating her doesn't mean that she'll give up on him. Still, he hated that Luke insinuated differently. Once the pain subsided enough for him to move without wanting to keel over, he picked himself up and made his way to Annabeth's apartment to tell her what he saw. She didn't deserve this and he sure as hell was going to be there for her.

On the drive over, he tried to make himself as presentable as possible. His hair was unfixable and the cut on his upper lip was a dead giveaway that he had been in some kind of altercation, but at least it had stopped bleeding. He rehearsed over a dozen ways to break the news to Annabeth about Luke's infidelity, but all seemed to insensitive and crass. Before he knew it, he was at her apartment door. Running a hand through his hair to try to calm his nerves, he knocked on the door and winced as he discovered that his right fist was sore from connecting with Luke's face.

"Hey Seaweed Brain, I was just - _Percy?_ What happened?" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted when she noticed his split lip. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the apartment to sit him down on the couch. She sat across from him on the edge of the coffee table to look at his injury.

"Where's the family?" He asked, trying to divert the conversation as he started to get nauseatingly nervous. His nerves were on overdrive because he knew that what he came here to say would break her heart and he abhors the fact that he's the one who's doing this. Luke should be and by the looks of it, he wasn't going to be doing it anytime soon, maybe not at all, but if Annabeth discovered that he had known all along and kept it a secret from her, the damage would be irreparable. Plus, she shouldn't be with the guy any longer if he had anything to say about it.

"Twins' soccer game. Don't distract. What happened?" She pulled on his upper lip slightly to examine the extent of the injury. They were leaned in so closely that he could see her eyelashes.

"I got into a fight."

"With?"

"Luke," he said quietly while looking her in the eye.

Her eyes widened as she sat back, "What?"

There was a period of silence as she awaited his answer. "He's cheating on you," he said in an almost whispered sigh.

Annabeth looked like she had been slapped and instead of the sadness and hurt he expected, she was angry.

"You're lying," she seethed. His eyebrows nearly shot up into his hairline. She didn't believe him.

He pulled back away from her, incredulous at the accusation. "Are you serious, Annabeth? You think I would lie to you about this? Ask him about what he was doing with Katherine Jenson by the bleachers after school today because I can tell you right now that it was nothing platonic."

"No, I will not ask him because I trust my boyfriend," she said as she stood up and paced the floor. He felt like he was sucker punched in the gut. He could only stare at her as he heard the words replayed in his head.

"So, you're saying that you don't trust me. Your best friend of ten years. But, you trust your boyfriend of six months," he said the words slowly and almost robotically. He was numb. His oldest and best friend had just turned her back on him and he felt sick to his stomach.

"I don't know," she said, pulling at the ends of her curls. "I just can't believe Luke doing that to me because I know he would never."

"Why the _hell_ would I even lie to you about this?" He exploded at her.

"I don't know!" Annabeth yelled at him with tears running down her face. "I just - I don't know what to believe."

"Wh-what? You know I wouldn't lie to you about this." He tugged at the ends of his hair. "I can't believe you don't trust me. You think I would lie to you about this? Then, fine. Find me when you figure out the 'truth' for yourself. Don't say you didn't see it coming." He briskly walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

* * *

_"I just wanna give you the loving that you're missing."_

* * *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since he walked out of her apartment, leaving behind their friendship in tatters. He's barely seen her and may or may not have been actively avoiding her. He heard through the rumor mill at school that Annabeth walked in on Luke and another girl kissing and they immediately broke up. _Oh, how the mighty have_ fallen, he thought bitterly.

Hearing a knock, he opened the door to the last person he expected to see on his doorstep. Annabeth looked at him apologetically, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel sympathy for her. Because he knew why she was here and he couldn't suppress the flood of betrayal and hurt that rushed through his veins.

He was about to close the door when she shot out a hand to impede the action. "Percy, please can we talk?"

He had so much pent up emotions that were on the cusp of bursting. He was like a dormant volcano about to explode and the impetus of eruption was looking Annabeth in the eyes for the first time since he left her apartment after their fight.

He wrenched the door open and pulled her into his apartment. He angrily slammed the door as hard as he could and rounded on her. "Okay, you want to talk? Then talk. Tell me why Luke was better than me. Tell me why I was basically dropped the moment you met him. Tell me what I did all these years that made you not trust me. Tell me what I did to deserve being treated like _shit_ by someone who I thought was my friend. My _best_ friend."

He knew that he was yelling and he never yelled at anyone, let alone at Annabeth. Thankful that he was home alone when she came, he was able to make as much noise as possible without drawing any attention from his mother and Paul. Each sentence he said ripped a tear in his heart. It was one thing to keep these words as thoughts. Saying them out loud made it so much more real.

They were in the same position they were in weeks ago when Annabeth bailed on him for Luke. They were finally having this conversation. He could see tears forming in her eyes from where he stood and he could feel the tears in his own eyes welling. Annabeth only stared at him, completely uttered speechless by his rant.

After a period of silently staring at one another, he continued in a softer tone, "You used me and dumped me like I was yesterday's trash. Do you know how hard it was for me to see him treat you that way? Unintentional or not, he _fucking_ hit you for God's sake yet you still went back to him. I don't know who you are anymore, Annabeth, but I do know it's not someone I want to continue being friends with especially when..." He trailed off realizing what he was close to confessing. He was about to continue talking when he was interrupted.

"When what? Especially when what?"

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until he closed his eyes and decided to bite the bullet, realizing that he didn't care anymore and the anger and resentment he felt towards her clouded his judgment, "Especially when I was in love with you."

She looked at him incredulously, eyes wide as saucers. "Wh-what? You're...you're in love with me?"

He stared her dead in the eye, retaliating, a little more harshly than he intended, "Was. I was in love with you."

She took a few steps backwards until she reached the couch. Sitting on it, she looked at him and he could see the gears churning in her head. She said slowly, "When?"

He walked over to his window and looked out at the city skyline, contemplating whether or not to tell her the truth. Nervously tapping his fingers on the sill, he responded, "Freshmen year."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There are lots of reason. You never showed any interest in me. You were always going on and on about Luke. We were best friends. I - "

" _Were?_ " She interrupted him.

Shutting his eyes, he pressed his forehead on the window. "Annabeth, look at the past six months. I don't think we even categorize as friends anymore. We don't hang out, you barely talk to me unless I bring something up, and when we do hang out, I'm always _fucking_ bailed on for your boyfriend instead. And, we can't forget about the fact that you apparently don't trust me enough as much as you trust your boyfriend." He couldn't help, but throw what happened previously, what brought this on in the first place, back in her face.

"Percy, I'm so so sorry." He could hear the tears in her voice.

"You've said sorry a million times before...," he hesitated before continuing, "...and it's not enough anymore." Facing her, he could feel his heart break at the sight of her in tears, but he stood his ground. "Annabeth, I think you should leave now."

He walked to his bedroom and slammed the door shut, praying that Annabeth wouldn't follow him in. She seemed to adhere to his request as minutes later, he heard the front door close and he let out a deep sigh. Collapsing onto the bed, he stared at the ceiling as he wondered how his life got so complicated.

* * *

 _"Give me a sign_. _Take my hand, we'll be fine."_

* * *

He hadn't seen Annabeth in several weeks and it was unbelievable how much he missed her. It had taken an obvious toll on his behavior and mood as his mother stopped him before he left for school earlier today.

"Perce, come here and sit," his mother said as he left the kitchen with a glass of milk.

"Hey, mom. What's up?"

"Is everything okay? We've noticed that things have been...odd...with you recently." Mother's intuition is a very real thing in Sally Jackson.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Annabeth and I are just having a rough patch," he cringed at his choice of words. He wasn't sure if the complete fallout of their friendship could be categorized as a rough patch, but he wasn't keen on saying more when his emotions about the entire situation were still raw.

"You know that you can always talk to me right?" He nodded in response. "Okay, I'll see you later tonight." He gave his mom a hug and walked out the door.

When he came home, he was almost glad that his mother wasn't home yet. She didn't seem completely satisfied with his answer and he feared that she might interrogate him more when neither had anywhere to go. It wasn't like he didn't like talking to his mom. He was just fortunate enough to never experience many dramatic events such as this, so he didn't have the experience in consulting with other people. Usually, when he was in need, he went to Annabeth, but that was clearly not an option at the moment. As if the world was playing tricks on him, he opened the front door to see the exact person, who couldn't leave his mind.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Can we talk? Please?" He couldn't resist her eyes and God, he didn't realize exactly how much he had missed her. Stepping aside to let her in, he rocked on the heels of his feet nervously.

"Sit on the couch with me?" He wordlessly answered her request and sat as far as he could from her on the couch.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and I realized some really important things. I love you, Percy. I want to be in a relationship with you and I feel so _unbelievably_ stupid for not seeing this before. And, God, Percy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me for being such a moron because I can't - I - I love you and I want to be with you," his eyes bugged out at her confession. He just gaped at her, unable to form words. He was confused. He always thought that he would be elated when she said that she loved him, but he didn't. He was still hurt and he knew he had an answer.

"Annabeth," he took her hand in his to try to alleviate the hurt she'll feel when he says these words, "It still hurts and I cannot bring myself to completely forgive you, at least at the moment. I'm sorry." She nodded at his words, understanding that what she had done had hurt him drastically.

As much as it pained him to say, he found himself telling her, "I can't be in a relationship with you right now."

The downtrodden look on her face killed him, but he knew he was right. Grabbing her arms, he reassured her, "Not right now, Annabeth. This doesn't mean I don't want to be with you. Our friendship took a huge hit and I need to make sure this isn't some rebound thing after Luke. We need to work on our friendship first."

She looked up and tearily smiled at him. "When did you get so smart?"

He smiled at her softly, cupping her face and using his thumb to wipe away the falling tears, "I've always been smart. Just been waiting for you to notice me."

"I'm sorry, Percy. But, you have to know that I mean it when I say that I'm in love with you," as if to further emphasize her point, she brought him down and kissed him. It's not like he hasn't been kissed before, but this is the first time he's actually _felt_ something in a kiss. It was slow, soft, and tender and made him want to kiss her forever. But, he had to suppress his raging hormones and stand his ground.

Pulling away, he asked, "What was that for?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "I just wanted to show you that you mean everything to me and I want us to be together. And, I understand where you're coming from, so I'll wait for us to be, well, _us_."

"I'm glad that you understand. I know it'll suck for a little bit now, but I promise we'll have all the time in the world to be happy later," he smiled at her and stepped back from the embrace.

Annabeth stuck out her hand, "Ready to start over?"

"Yeah, ready to start over," he grinned.

* * *

 _"Just know that you don't_ _h_ _ave to do this alone_. _Promise I'll never let you down"_

* * *

It had been a month since their "starting over" and things couldn't be better. They were back to where they were before the Luke catastrophe and they were closer than ever. Movie nights were weekly occurrences and study sessions became more and more frequent as finals were just around the corner.

"Look at us, we're seniors," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the high school on their last day of junior year. "Can we get a head start on the pranks? I bet I can get a couple guys to help me put a golf cart on the roof."

Leaning into him, she laughed at his antics, "I would be careful if I were you. I'm not bailing you out, Seaweed Brain."

Things were so good between them and he wanted for them to move forward in their relationship, but he was hesitant to since they hadn't talked about their feelings for one another after their agreement to start over.

"I've been thinking - "

"So, Wise Girl - "

They abruptly stopped walking and looked at one another with slight blushes on their face. He started to scratch the back of his neck nervously, "Um, ladies first."

Annabeth took his hand and dragged him under the shade of an elm tree to escape the hot sun. She played with her fingers as he could hear the nervousness in her voice as she said, "Well, I've, um, been thinking about us recently. And, uh, I just wanted to ask where we were on this?"

He grinned at her. "Annabeth, would you like to be my girlfriend?" He asked nervously.

She didn't say anything at first, causing him to almost seize into a panic attack. But, she walked up close to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning down, he met her halfway and kissed her. God, he loved kissing her and, even though it's just the second kiss, he swore that he's already addicted. They parted and grinned happily at each other.

"So, I guess we're really doing this," he shyly grinned at her as he held her hand, intertwining their fingers. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as they continued walking down the street.

Bumping shoulders with him, she said, "Yeah, we're really doing this."

After a brief silence, she blurted out, "I love you." As if her mind caught up with what she said, she stopped walking and sputtered, "You don't have to say it back. I know it's too soon, but we've known each other forever and I wanted to tell you that I really do love you and that I hope you'll feel the same way someday - "

He interrupted her with a kiss, "I love you too," he said as they parted.

She looked at him with wide eyes, "You do?"

"Yeah, I never fell out of love with you. I was just mad about the Luke thing. I love you, Wise Girl. Actually, I love you a lot."

She looked at him sadly and before he could say anything, she said, "I'm still really sorry about all of that. I wish I never dated Luke in the first place."

"Annabeth, you really don't have to apologize anymore. Luke was a dick. I promise that I will treat you a million times better than he did and I'll never let you down...well, at least intentionally cause, you know, as you say, I'm a seaweed brain," he said jokingly.

Laughing, she pulled on his hand to keep walking, "True, but you're my seaweed brain."

"And you say I'm the cheeseball," he said drily, rolling his eyes. "How about this? Let's not talk about Luke ever again. Instead, how about we head to my house. I think my mom made cookies."

"Sounds perfect."

* * *

 _"I know I can treat you better_. _Better than he can."_


End file.
